But WHY, Dad?
by asclao
Summary: What if Christof stopped Sylvia before she got too close to Truman? This fiction removes Sylvia as the catalyst for Truman's quest with the need to keep up with his own precocious and quesitoning two-year-old. Rated PG-13 for some inappropriate language.


Important to note - The Truman Show is a great movie; and I give huge kudos to the writers. Please note that all characters are based on the movie and I hold no claim to them in any way. I am only doing this as a great time- waster and personal enjoyment of the 'what-if'-s of the movie. Okay, that said.... Let me try my hand at this.  
  
Brief story build-up:  
  
After a glimpse into Sylvia's eyes, Truman falls madly for her. However, after a run in with Meryl, he looks back over and she is gone.  
  
Christof tells his men to send Sylvia into a conference room in the studio's control center. The men are a bit shocked by his directions, since the room was usually reserved for important studio executives. Sylvia is taken into the room and guarded until the night, when Truman is sleeping.  
  
Christof leaves his control chair while Truman snores before him. He notices that Truman has left his window open and tells his staff to create a gentle, warm breeze. "Also," he turns to his music director, "play something soothing and comforting. Use no romantic dream interludes, this is to be a totally platonic dream. Like playing with a puppy in the backyard, or the smell of fresh brownies."  
  
Christof turns to the meeting room where he had his men take Sylvia. He sighed and scratched at his forehead nervously. This could ruin the show, he thought to himself. Truman needs to end up with Meryl. He cannot, in any way, fall for anyone not on our paycheck. Who knows what kind of ideas this girl might give to him?  
  
He entered the room. Two new guards had replaced the ones that brought her in originally. She sat at the desk, reading a psychology textbook that was in her studio-apportioned backpack. Her brown eyes slit angrily as she looked up from its pages. "I see you keep breaking his wings," she said coldly. "Eventually, your cage will get too small for him and his flight will ruin you! Then maybe you will see, you cold bastard, what you have done to him!"  
  
"Now wait there!" Cristof broke in, his blue-grey eyes cold and distant, but fiery with righteous indignance, "You want him to leave this so-called 'cage', but to go WHERE? What the hell is better OUT THERE for him??!! Isn't it obvious that the outside world has caged us all into this sea of inactivity. We don't question what we live, but the injustice out there is far greater than ANY that could be committed in here!"  
  
She interrupted him, slamming the book on the table, "But you don't give him a CHOICE!!"  
  
"I give him PLENTY of choices! Just because all the options are controlled doesn't mean he can't choose between them!"  
  
He noticed the corner of her mouth turn into a sneer. Yes, he thought, this one is definitely going to cause more trouble for this studio later on in the game. He inhaled and held a breath, closing his eyes to concentrate.  
  
She took this to mean she had the floor. Instead of verbalizing, she sprang out of her chair and lunged at him. Christof snapped suddenly out of his reverie. The guards on duty grabbed her and forced her back into the chair. Sylvia cursed loudly at Christof and the guards, struggling to get freed.  
  
"Sylvia, Sylvia..." He covered his forehead with a curved hand, and let out a long sigh. "I am afraid you have to stay with us. We can't afford this kind of complication right now."  
  
He nodded to the guards that were still holding fiercely to her forearms.  
  
"Damn you, Christof! He has a right to live as a free man!-"  
  
The door slid open. A third guard stood holding a rope and gag.  
  
She gasped, and started screaming, "Christof, what the hell are you going to do...?!"  
  
The woman guard took three long strides to reach her, and gagged her mid- scream. She pushed Sylvia forward in the chair and bound her hands behind her.  
  
Christof looked sorrowfully down at the tied up Sylvia. "You really ought to stop picking your battles like this, Sylvia. You might have made a great bit player if you had worked more with the program."  
  
She glared and threw her head away from him, breaking up her ponytail.  
  
Christof pulled the lady guard aside and told her to take Sylvia to a warehouse deep in the studio's forest. "Make her understand that she cannot return to this set."  
  
"If necessary," he closed his eyes regretfully, "remove any option of returning."  
  
..........  
  
Meryl and Truman had a fabulous wedding. The bridesmaids coaxed Meryl into a girls-only rendition of R.E.S.P.E.C.T., while Truman and Marlon hung around the bar and remoniced about college. Meryl dragged Truman out many times to dance. With Truman out dancing with his new bride, Marlon took the cue to put a sleeping drug into Truman's half-empty drink. The plan was to have Truman and Meryl fly straight to the honeymoon after the reception.  
  
The 'honeymoon' was filmed on location on a small island close to the Bermuda Triangle. Due to its proximity to the Triangle, one uninhabited island was purchased many years ago by the movie industry and used for several movie projects. A few previous sets remained, but were so weakly fake they had to be torn down.  
  
The honeymoon set had been completed within the first three months of the engagement duration. Christof directed Meryl to stretch the planning beyond the traditional year, to appear almost afraid to commit. She was to make an effort to be indecisive, yet determined, about the marriage. It was hoped that the stall would cool the general audience rumors about the honeymoon location being "Off-Set" and perhaps within easy reach. The tactic proved eventful, as a press story was leaked about a potential affair between Meryl and Marlon. The resulting wave of interest pointed away from the honeymoon and more towards intimate details of the budding love triangle.  
  
Eventually the public forgot all about the honeymoon, and the wedding was back on. As directed, Meryl spent the majority of the time planning for the wedding on camera. Truman would roll his eyes with every shop they visited, and gasp at every high-priced dress he saw. Like any wedding, the invitation list had to be weeded through, the china decided upon, and the chapel needed to be rented.  
  
As groom, Truman had to pick the destination for the honeymoon. He made an appointment with the travel agency down the street from his office. A red- haired agent handed him several brochures, talked him through a number of options, and asked politely when his trip would be taking place.  
  
"June 20th" he told her  
  
"June 20th," she turned to her monitor and typed several keystrokes. Her monitor changed to a script. "Hrmm..." her face screwed up into a small, polite scowl. "I'm sorry sir, but the majority of those locations are booked solid for that date. The only option I have is the Dreamland Vacation Resort down in the Midway Islands. Would you be interested in that?"  
  
Truman's eyebrows shot up. "Wow!" He looked down at the brochures, slightly frustrated.  
  
"Well!" He looked up, "I guess I goofed there! Meryl kept telling me to make the reservations months ago! Looks like the sunny beaches of Midway will be our destination!" His trademark Truman grin lit up his face as he remarked, "At least I got that taken care of quickly!" He placed the other six brochures on the table. "Yep! Good thing I don't have to worry about all these other choices!"  
  
The travel agent began typing away, requesting new cues for the acceptance script. The writers were shocked to find out Truman had been so nonplussed about the 'complications.' They immediately replaced her screen with a new script.  
  
"Well, Truman" the woman read, "We should start the booking process immediately before they fill up too!"  
  
Truman looked down at the brochure left in his hand. "Let's see what this puppy's got!"  
  
........  
  
Meryl turned to Truman. "Truman, honey," she rang joyfully across the kitchen table, "I have some wonderful news to tell you!"  
  
He looked up from his cereal.  
  
"Remember when I fainted yesterday at work, and I had to come home early and lie down?"  
  
He wrinkled his eyebrows slightly and looked upward. "Oh, yeah!" he brought his head back down and pointed his cereal spoon towards her. "You had said it was from the guy who came in from a motorcycle wreck."  
  
She giggled excitedly, "Yes! But..."  
  
She reached for his hand.  
  
"That wasn't the only reason." She grinned broadly as the camera zoomed in on her face. "Truman, honey, we're going to have a BABY!"  
  
The camera panned out across the table as the spoon dropped from Truman's hands. ......... 


End file.
